Tamil Nadu's ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Wednesday dismissed speculation that the CPI(M) would withdraw support over the AIADMK joining as a coalition partner.
TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna additionally reiterated Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's standing invitation to all four outside support parties to formally join the government.
"Chief Minister has reiterated it. That is his wish and dream too," Aadhav told reporters, naming VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan specifically in the invitation alongside the CPM, CPI, and IUML. But he stopped short of confirming cabinet expansion details, saying Vijay would make an announcement shortly, NDTV reported.
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The CPI(M), which has two MLAs supporting the TVK government, had on Tuesday warned it would "reconsider its support" if any AIADMK faction was inducted into the Council of Ministers — arguing the people of Tamil Nadu had voted against both the DMK and AIADMK, and that such a move would contradict TVK's promise of clean governance.
State secretary P Shanmugam publicly gave the statement.
Arjuna brushed aside the concern, insisting the TVK would always stand for social justice.
He also alleged that sections of the DMK and AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami had attempted to forge an unlikely coalition to defy the April 23 election verdict — a reference to reported back-channel efforts at an AIADMK-DMK power grab after the fractured results.
The TVK currently has 107 MLAs after Vijay vacated one of his two seats, and commands 120 with Congress' five and eight seats from the VCK, CPI, CPM, and IUML combined. The majority mark is 118 — leaving a wafer-thin margin of two.
The 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs who defied Palaniswami during last week's trust vote represent a significant potential boost. Even if both Left parties and the VCK withdrew over such an alliance, TVK would still come out 19 seats ahead.
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Arjuna addressed the rebel faction directly. "Shanmugam leads the faction… it is not for power," he said, adding that the rebel AIADMK leader would announce his next steps in due course. "MLAs have the right to choose whom they support."
Vijay has become the first actor-politician to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since the AIADMK's J. Jayalalithaa, over a decade ago.
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